Kimberly-Clark Health Care's 2011 HAI WATCHDOG Awards Recognize Champions In The Fight Against Healthcare-Associated Infections

ROSWELL, Ga., June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Health Care today announced the recipients of the second annual HAI WATCHDOG Awards, created to recognize the efforts of dedicated healthcare professionals working together to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). The awards program, an initiative of the HAI WATCHDOG Community, facilitates the sharing of best practices among clinicians and recognizes four exceptional participants with an educational grant.

"This year we expanded the reach and recognition of the WATCHDOG Awards by creating independent awards programs in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and once again the response and quality of submissions exceeded our expectations," said Joanne Bauer, president, Kimberly-Clark Health Care. "The entries address a variety of issues that healthcare facilities encounter, and we hope that by sharing these proven best practices on haiwatchdog.com, healthcare providers feel empowered to share and learn from each other, and continue to challenge themselves to strive for and maintain the highest levels of infection control."

The 2011 WATCHDOG Award winners, judged by a panel of infection prevention healthcare professionals, demonstrated measureable results in the area of infection control and addressed a range of issues including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The Clinician's Choice category recognizes education and awareness programs with non-measureable results and the winner was selected by online public voting of fellow healthcare professionals.

"I was thoroughly impressed with the winners this year. There was a real change in culture and attitude and that's ultimately what made the programs so successful," said Dr. William Jarvis, former Director of the Office of Extramural Research at the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases. "It is my hope that other healthcare professionals learn from these innovative HAI prevention and reduction strategies and are motivated to take action within their own facilities."

2011 Award Recipients

Panel Judged Entries

Fewer than 300 beds:

• Mary Black Memorial Hospital, Spartanburg, S.C.—After having a VAP rate above the national average for two consecutive years, the ICU nurses and respiratory therapists developed a "Ventilator Bundle Monitor" form and protocol to effectively monitor mechanically ventilated patients. The new regimen and requirements led to only one VAP incident in 2011.  

More than 300 beds:

• Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Mo.—To combat the high rate and increased risk of CLABSI in its surgical intensive care unit, the hospital formed an ICU multi-disciplinary committee and developed a daily central line checklist of best practices. The hospital committee also standardized documentation, educational programming, hand hygiene and compliance checks. As a result, the hospital reduced its CLABSI rate by 90 percent, and achieved a zero percent Clostridium difficile rate.

Healthcare System:

• Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, Texas—In the quest to improve patient care, the hospital developed a campaign to "Zero in on MRSA" by implementing proven best practices gradually throughout the facility. Using the concepts of ownership, emphasis and reinforcement, as well as investments in technology and staff, the center's 15 in-patient units reported zero MRSA infections after one year. This program was also recognized by the Joint Commission for Best Practices in Infection Prevention.

Clinician's Choice:

• Hallmark Health System, Medford, Mass.—In an effort to reduce incidents of CLABSI infection, the hospital system commissioned a taskforce to develop educational programs, implement best practices and improve performance by learning from previous deficiencies. The goal of the system is to provide the necessary foundation for the organization to achieve and maintain infection rates of zero.

Honorable Mentions:

• Prince William Hospital, Manassas, Va.—"Keys for Success in the Prevention of CAUTI"
• Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, R.I.—"Reduce Hospital-Associated MRSA and Infection in Critical Care"
• University of Mississippi Hospitals and Health System, Jackson, Miss.—"Intervention to Reduce CLABSI in the Adult Critical Care Hospital"
• St. Francis Hospital, Columbus, Ga.—"Waging War on Sepsis"
• Centra Health, Lynchburg, Va.—"How Low Can We Go? A Healthcare System's Successful Surgical Site Infection Reduction Program"

Winners of the UK, Australia and New Zealand WATCHDOG Awards will be announced later this year. The Australia and New Zealand programs are open for submissions until September 30, 2012.

The 2012 HAI WATCHDOG Awards will open for submissions this summer. For more information, please visit www.haiwatchdog.com or facebook.com/haiwatchdog.

About the HAI WATCHDOG Community

The HAI WATCHDOG Community is an online forum for sharing infection prevention best practices.  Healthcare professionals can join the HAI WATCHDOG Community to share experiences or participate in existing discussions and gather effective strategies to replicate in their organizations. In addition, clinicians have access to tools and resources, such as customizable posters, to educate and reinforce the importance of HAI prevention with staff.

Kimberly-Clark in the Healthcare Environment

Around the world, medical professionals turn to Kimberly-Clark for a wide portfolio of solutions that improve the health, hygiene and well-being of their patients and staff. As part of their healing mission, caregivers rely on Kimberly-Clark to deliver clinical solutions and educational resources that they can depend on to prevent, diagnose and manage a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections. This more than $1 billion global enterprise of Kimberly-Clark Corporation holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share position in several categories, including infection control solutions, surgical solutions, pain management and digestive health. And throughout the care continuum, patients and staff alike trust Kimberly-Clark medical supplies and devices, KLEENEX tissues, Kimberly-Clark professional skin care products and SCOTT towels for day-to-day needs. For more information, visit http://www.kchealthcare.com.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Health Care